Timeline
Spartan Games Era Much of the initial development of the older alien dominions, the Aquan Sebrutan and the Sorylian Collective long predates the rise of the humanity as a spacefaring power. However, many of the events in this shadowed period have assumed a near-mythical status. Thus, this timeline concerns itself primarily with the rise of humanity and its interactions with the wider galaxy – arguably the greatest upheaval in recent galactic history. 2087-2209: After millennia of conflict and division, Terra lies under a single political authority, the United Government of Earth – often simply called the Terran Republic. With Earth threatened by massive overpopulation and limited resources, human exploration of the Sol System is undertaken in earnest. By 2300, every world and significant satellite in the Sol System is inhabited by humanity, as well as much of the asteroid belt. Even today, Sol is the most populous of all human-occupied systems and is no longer fully self-sufficient in many resources. 2100-2160: The Relthoza, at this time confined solely to their homeworld Aziza Prime, perfect their first generation of nanotechnology, in which they quickly make swift advances. The unstable world is rendered far more habitable and its Relthoza population booms as the new science enables tremendous efficiency in resource usage. 2210-2550: The first interstellar explorations are launched from marshalling points around Pluto, thanks to the efforts of far-sighted scientists and politicians. Pioneering colony fleets settle the first of the systems within the Orion Spur that will later become known as the Terran Hub. Colonisation efforts at this stage are painfully slow, relying on sub-light travel and cryosleep units to project ‘generational colony fleets towards distant stars. 2230-2370, The Swarm Wars: despite their technological advances, the Relthoza exhaust Aziza Prime’s resources. The overpopulated Hives embarked on a massively destructive civil war lasting over a century and a half. 2370-2400, The Rise of the Twenty: the Brood-Queen leaders of the twenty most prominent Relthoza Hives of Aziza convene to quell the fighting that threatens the very existence of their race. The political and diplomatic frameworks that govern Relthoza society are established, along with the caste system known as the Unity. By 2400 the Relthoza bend their strength to expansion beyond their exhausted homeworld. 2400-2600, The World-Web: the Relthoza complete their colonisation of Aziza Prime’s eleven moons. The closest three are physically connected to the planet via vast ‘webs’ of nanotech-built travel tubes and waystations. Lunar colonisation forms the springboard for further Relthoza spaceborne expansion. 2600-2830: Relthoza colonisation efforts of the remaining worlds of the Aziza System proceed in earnest, as various powerful Hives and their cadets claim individual worlds or asteroid clusters. The Relthoza recognise themselves as an imperial power for the first time. The Relthoza colonisation is driven by highly efficient nanotech gravity impellers, allowing for ‘micro-shunt’ travel within systems. Their initial exploration is highly systematic, intent on total control of their home system, but towards the end of this period, clouds of exploration drones, hurled through crude, short range temporary wormholes, are launched to provide knowledge of nearby systems for future expansion. 2600-65: The Tannhauser System is settled, initiating a revolution in human stellar travel. The so-called ‘Tannhauser Anomaly’ is found in the system’s outer regions; an ancient but still functional wormhole Jump Gate of unknown origin. 2615-90: An expedition fleet is sent through the Tannhauser Jump Gate, and discovers the system that will later become known as Fortress. Fortress contains five other Jump Gates. As the system is settled, further expeditions are sent through these great portals, spreading human colony flotillas far beyond the Hub. 2670: Terran scientists successfully replicate the wormhole-generating functions of the Tannhauser Jump Gate. From this point onwards, Jump Gates will be constructed in all human-settled systems; a practice that will continue until the settlement of Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone, when Fold Space Drives have become widely employed. 2672:'''Communications specialists at Tannhauser build the first wormhole communications unit aboard a satellite near the Tannhauser Jump Gate. They use this to project a small wormhole in the direction of Terra, hoping to send radio signals to the homeworld detailing the means of constructing Jump Gates. '''2675: After three years of waiting, the Tannhauser researchers are jubilant as a return message is received from Earth. The first Jump Gate is completed in the Sol System, along with the first dedicated communications satellite using wormhole signal projection. Communicating with delays of weeks rather than years, scientists in Sol and Tannhauser create a link between the two Jump Gates, allowing ships to travel between them in only a few months. This year is celebrated in Terran history as Foundation Year, the birth of the unified Terran stellar dominion. 2675 onwards, The Enlightening: wormhole signal transmission is used to project the vital information of Jump Gate and communication schematics towards the far-distant colonies which until now have been identified only by faint, fitful signals in the void. One by one, most of these colonies establish Jump Gate and communication connections with Sol. New star maps show the colonies forming a rough ring around the location of Terra’s Sun, which is remarked on as appearing like the hub of a wheel. The name sticks, and from the late 2790s onwards the cluster of human-settled regions dubbed the First Colonies within the Orion Spur become known as the ‘Terran Hub Systems’ or simply ‘The Wheel’. 2855-2990 onwards: The Relthoza develop nanotech ‘wormhole’ web-gates to facilitate a crude form of Fold Space travel. Unlike the great static Jump Gates used by the Terrans and Sorylians, the web-gates are created by clouds of nano-robots as a temporary measure. They can project only individual ships and at this time are capable of only very short range jumps, even under explorer drone guidance. Relthoza colonisation therefore remains focused on bubble-like expansionism into the remote region of space around Aziza, settling worlds that would be deemed uninhabitable by other races, using their technology to undertake rigorous terraforming efforts. They remain largely ignorant of the existence of other spacefaring species at this time. 2690 – 2900:,The Second Expansion: with the Terran Hub established and the Fortress System secured, a second great wave of colonisation begins, now focused on the systems connected to the Jump Gates located at Fortress. The ‘Fortress Voyages’ represent the first major expansion beyond the Terran Hub. However, ‘generational’ colony fleets are still assembled and launched towards systems outside of the Jump Gate-connected regions. Their destinations are distant stars deemed to possess Terran Optimal Biosphere worlds within their stellar families, identified by the burgeoning science of astrocartography. These fleets are still similar in concept and composition to their predecessors of centuries past, except that all now have the capacity to construct long-range communication satellites and potentially Jump Gates as well on arrival. Most of these fleets head to the galactic east of Terra, following the trailing Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. 2900, Age of First Contact: A Terran colony armada encounters a species they believe to be the Saurians in the Dresden System to the galactic west of the Terran Hub – the first recorded contact with a sentient alien species. Dresden contains an existing Jump Gate; the Saurians claim to be the creators of these mysterious portals, and that the territories further on from Dresden are their dominions. The aliens are uninterested in trade and refuse to allow the Terrans access to the Dresden Jump Gate supply charts detailing the existence of other Jump Gates apparently located in regions within and around the Perseus Arm of the galaxy, in exchange for a moratorium on the so called ‘Dresden Stream Expansion’. The Saurian encounter is logged as a successful peaceful contact but shortly thereafter, both the Saurians and the existing Jump Gate vanish from Dresden; The entire affair, and indeed the true identity of the aliens themselves, is later shrouded in mystery. The Terrans proceed to build their own Jump Gate connecting Dresden to the Hub, but for centuries thereafter, it remains a backwater. 2900-2950: The Perseus Expansion Streams of colony fleets travelling from the Fortress hub begin to encounter evidence of alien lifeforms and habitation in the Shan Quo Fan Systems and the Wyndham Cluster. The intercepted signals from both are dramatically different, leading to great excitement and trepidation on Terra and at Fortress, suggesting that two more, quite distinctive, non-human intelligences have been detected. 3000-19, Ascleyr Contact: Terran colonists observe Aquan ships for the first time. Attempts to make contact are inconclusive. The vessels are sporadically sighted over several years within the Ascleyr system, but they keep distant from the human-occupied colonies in the system. 3033: Terran pioneers encounter Sorylian prospectors engaged in ore extraction activites in the Wyndham Cluster. Initial attempts at contact prove inconclusive as the strange aliens totally ignore the newcomers, while the pioneers keep their distance. 3034-5: The Terran government ponders how to respond to news of more aliens lying in the path of human expansion along the Perseus Stream. However, on the frontier, colonisation efforts continue unabated, despite repeated orders from the Hub for a temporary moratorium. 3035-3040, The Heshyna Stand-Off: as the Terran government continues to prevaricate, colonisation efforts in the Perseues Stream expansions continue. The first colonies are established in the Shan Quo Fan Systems, prompting the first recorded contact with the Aquans – an ultimatum from the Aquan dominion of Heshyna to evacuate the territories. Some colonists comply, but the defiant expedition of Admiral Adnon Ter’Qai refuses to give ground, ignoring both Aquan warnings and orders from Terra. 3040, Wyndham Rock War: Further Terran attempts to make contact with the Sorylian inhabitants of the Cluster – later identified as being of the the Crael Sphere - end in disaster, when the Naziri Expedition Flotilla attempts to use supposedly Saurian signal codes to communicate with these new reptilian aliens. Unlike previous efforts, this provokes a fiercely violent response. The Naziri Flotilla suffers badly in mankind’s first stellar conflict. Thereafter, several nearby colonies, the first being Cubisarr, come under attack. 3041-2, The Wars of First Contact: after centuries of peace, the Terran Republic finds itself embroiled in a two front war, as conflict breaks out and escalates on both major arms of the Perseus Expansion. The stubborn Ter’Qai colonists hold out against Aquan attacks from Heshyna forces, while additional flotillas are sent to reinforce the Naziri Holdings for protection against Sorylian raids. Fortunately, the conflict is short-lived. All three powers are unenthusiastic about the prospect of stellar warfare, the Terrans especially. After a short period, compromises are reached, and peace is restored between the three dominions. 3043-50, The Fortress Accords: A series of historic conferences are held in the Fortress System between Terran, Aquan and Sorylian delegates following the ceasefire. These accords mark several significant firsts: not only do they define the borders between Terran, Aquan and Sorylian spheres of influence, but they also mark the first formalised contact in centuries between the Aquan and Sorylian stellar empires, historically highly untrusting of one another after past periods of animosity. A series of treaties are eventually signed, with significant outcomes: the Terran Perseus Stream colonisation is permitted to proceed through regions of space known as Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone – these volatile areas previously acted as a buffer between Aquan and Sorylian interests. Although hazardous, this will ultimately allow human expansion into the vast Outer Reach. Formal mercantile agreements are made, and the First Terran Stellar Bank is established, headed by representatives of all three dominions, allowing for ease of trade between them. 3043-50, The Colonial Reformation: the Wars of First Contact convinces the Terran government to adopt a more centralised approach to colonial development. A massive expansion of next-generation high-speed wormhole communication satellites is approved. This action is met with dissent by recent colonists, who fear the consequences of central micromanagement of their affairs. However, after much debate and wrangling, an agreement is struck, allowing for meaningful colonial representation in a reformed Terran stellar government, a possibility made much easier with improved communications. In 3050, the United Government of Earth is transformed into a new entity, named after the historic final treaty approving its reformation, and the new communications network that will make it possible – the Terran Satellite Charter. As part of these reforms, the first unified Terran stellar and planetary military forces are formed, to provide a consistent level of external defence and internal security. Existing standing fleets and armies are rationalised and merged into the Navy of the Terran Satellite Charter (NTSC) and the Satellite Charter Colonial Defence Forces (SCCDF). 3050: The Shan Quo Fan colonists, as part of the Fortress Accords, formally pledge their compliance with the governance of the Aquan Sebrutan; the key factor in the Aquans permitting them to remain within Sebrutan territory. They are the first humans to live under a non-human overall government. This marks the beginning of the Terquai Empire; they become a valuable diplomatic and economic bridge between the Terran Satellite Charter and the Aquan Sebrutan, eventually developing a largely harmonious relationship with the Aquans, as they settle worlds otherwise disregarded by the aquatic alien union. 3050: Following the Fortress Accords, Terran scientists establish a joint research programme with cadres of their Aquan and Sorylian peers. Co-operation with the Sorylians proves especially promising, as they, like the Terrans are heavily involved in researching improved methods of interstellar travel. 3056, The Soloth Revelation: Relthoza pioneers discover a non-functional Jump Gate in the Soloth System. Exploration of the workings of this device provide the impetus for the eventual development of Relthoza Fold Space travel. This Jump Gate no longer exists, the Relthoza having long ago rendered it down to its smallest components to discover and replicate its functionality. 3050 onwards: The Second Expansion recommences, with the Perseus Streams exploring the newly defined borders of the Aquan and Sorylian dominions for systems to settle. The first colony fleets are also launched into Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone. 3078: Using a business grant from the First Terran Stellar Bank, the Rense family of Tilsen establish an astronavigation/cartography company called RenseSpace. Initially focusing on developing navigation maps for known systems, the company quickly develops an interest in probing and mapping out expeditionary routes into Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone. 3090 onwards, The Fold Space Revolution: after a decade of study, and drawing upon many more decades of wormhole travel experience, mixed cadres of Terran and Sorylian physicists, with investment backing from the Terran government via Hawker Industries, create the first practical Fold Space Drive. For the first time, individual ships are able to generate their own temporary wormholes to allow for rapid interstellar travel. The earliest FSDs are massive, complex devices, which can only be fitted to the largest of spacecraft because of their immense power requirements, and even then are capable of only fairly short inter-system jumps. However, with accuracy forecast to fall off dramatically at longer range in any case, this is not seen as a disadvantage. The first commercial unit, the Hawker SD1 Void Lance, is fitted to the giant colony ships manufactured by that company. This has a dramatic effect on both colonial expansion, as colony fleets are now able to compress years of interstellar travel into months, and the fortunes of Hawker, which profits massively from these developments, and becomes for decades the largest corporation in human history. However, these early Fold Space Drives, cumbersome and not entirely trusted, are initially seen as an adjunct to Jump Gate travel, not a replacement for it. Settlement in the Fathoms Reach region, although greatly accelerated compared to previous efforts, proceeds in the systematic fashion laid down by the new Satellite Charter government, with newly settled systems rapidly acquiring Jump Gates and communications satellites. 3090, The Soloth Parallax: The Soloth Hives, working under the direct patronage of the Twenty, develop a functional Relthoza Fold Space Drive system. It is based on the older wormhole web devices, their capabilities dramatically expanded by the application of systems derived from the old Soloth Jump Gate. The Twenty ensure that the new technology is distributed to as widely as possible across Relthoza space, to prevent competing Hives triggering another civil war over its possession. 3092: The Terran government awards a contract for the continued development of Fold Space Drives to a small, specialist engineering company called Hark-Williams. The company proves a good fit and improved FSDs, fit for installation in smaller craft, are soon developed, powered by Sorylian-sourced ‘micronuke’ reactors. 3095: FSD-capable vessels are sent into Fathoms Reach. Using blind jumps mapped by astrocartographers, they are directed to systems earmarked for colonisation by slower-moving fleets despatched afterwards. Outposts are established to prepare for the arrival of full armadas. 3100: The first Terran colonies are established in the Storm Zone. FSD colony craft are now in common usage, and some Storm Zone colonies are established before those in Fathoms Reach. Astrocartography companies abound, mapping out new avenues of exploration into the outer Perseus and Scutum-Centaurus Arms beyond the Aquan and Sorylian dominions. 3100-3250, The Soloth Swarm: The Relthoza undergo their first swarming urge since the promulgation of FSD travel. The results are dramatic – the empire increases its size by another full third within only one and a quarter centuries, but remains relatively compact due to the highly efficient nature of Relthoza colonisation. Many worlds are settled by new ‘cadet’ broods descended from older Hives, establishing many competing Hive realms within the Empire. 3100: In a ceremony held at the planet of Terranova in the Fortress System, delegations of the Terran Satellite Charter, Sorylian Collective and Aquan Sebrutan meet to celebrate the centenary of the Fortress Accords. To mark the occasion, the Satellite Charter formally shares the schematics and principles of Fold Space Drive technology with its greatest non-human neighbours. The gift is recognised as one of deep significance by all three powers, as it is a huge gesture of trust. 3100: Hark-Williams relocates to Vinzer in Fathoms Reach and becomes a major supplier of refined FSDs. The company grows rapidly over the next few decades, expanding into several areas of development, including ship construction, terraforming and heavy engineering as it becomes a major supplier of these key resources to government and then private colonisation efforts. 3102: The Aquan Sebrutan, recognising the vast potential of improved FSDs in driving the consolidation and expansion of its territories, begins experimental measures intended to create species specifically able to colonise non-waterworlds. 3105: Avonn Rense relocates his company, renaming it RenseCorp, to the Storm Zone colony of Hera, using the sale of its Tilsen holdings (and a second large grant from the FTSB) to finance a fleet of FSD capable exploration craft, making a heavy investment in new, compact FSD drives built by Hark-Williams. Its reputation as an exemplary astrocartographic and navigation company comes to the fore, and it quickly becomes the premier supplier of such services, specialising in intrepid blind jumps. 3114-23, Generational Dawn: the first appearance of two new Aquan subspecies in large numbers: the Tritoni, produced using human genetic material; and the Illosi, a further refinement of the Shevaka sentient crustacean lifeforms common throughout the Sebrutan. Both quickly begin to play leading roles in new Aquan expeditions – the former in bringing far-distance colonies into stronger bond with the Sebrutan; that latter in long range exploration beyond the boundaries of the Aquan dominions. 3125 onwards, The Third Expansion: human colonisation of the Outer Reach begins in earnest. The pattern of colonisation, driven by already vastly improved FSDs, proceeds at much greater speed. Beacon-equipped ‘Lightships’ are sent to systems earmarked as profitable ‘hits’ by astrocartograpy specialists, creating powerful signals for FSD-equipped colony fleets to lock onto. The speed and expansion of human colonisation increases exponentially. The use of Jump Gates is gradually abandoned on the new frontier as more Reach colonies are founded, though their creation and use is continued in the more settled areas of Terran space. 3130: Large-scale Sorylian use of Fold Space propulsion begins in earnest, the Grand College of Ages having decreed the mechanisms to be suitably safe for regular use following observation of Terran activity (and also concerned at the possibility of being left behind in terms of this powerful new technology). 3132: First Illosian colonisation of the Thorsten Cluster. The Illosi expand rapidly within the densely packed systems, creating a tightly bound and rigidly governed dominion. 3136-45, The Illosi Purges: The increasingly aggressive Illosi begin conducting ‘cleansing’ operations on the worlds they settle, systematically eliminating or enslaving all other Aquan subspecies present in their colony fleets and planetary populations. 3140: The Works Raptor Corporation is founded in Ysgardia, the new capital system of Fathoms Reach. The company’s initial focus is on shipbuilding, but it soon develops a highly profitable arms development division, based in the Storm Zone to allow for uninterrupted testing of numerous deadly weapon systems. 3142: Hark-Williams makes a large investment in a struggling biotech and computing firm called Melcon, allowing it to make use of Melcon’s expertise in the further development of FSD technology. 3143: Ba’Kash raiders are encountered for the first time in Fathoms Reach, when exploration flotillas enter the Ulutha System, which is found to contain an active Jump Gate. However, due to the severity of continued attacks, which result in the capture of several exploration ships, colonisation efforts in the system are halted and Ulutha is quarantined. The existence of the Ba’Kash is not a revelation to the Terrans – knowledge of the race and its potential presence in Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone had been imparted by the Sorylians several decades before. 3145, The Coming of the Stormwrack: The Aquan Sebtrutan becomes aware of the Illosi revolt and moves to subdue the wayward subspecies. A series of vicious campaigns begin, with the Tritoni proving instrumental in helping the Sebrutan overcome the fierce warrior-crustaceans. While many Illosi spawn-clans stand and battle to the very end, large numbers begin to migrate to other regions, swearing vengeance upon their creators. Most gravitate towards the Thorsten Cluster, beyond the reach of the Sebrutan, swelling that region’s Illosian populations massively in only a few short decades. The events of the Stormwrack are kept largely secret by the Sebrutan – their allies only learn of the debacle centuries later. 3145-48: several newly colonised systems in Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone are attacked by Ba’Kash flotillas. The attacks are eventually beaten off, but to the consternation of Terran colonial authorities, several captured wrecks reveal that the ships contain crude copies of Terran FSD units. The Ba’Kash are reclassified as a potentially serious threat to newly settled areas, and more NTSC resources are earmarked for colonial protection in the new regions. 3155: The Dramos System is discovered and settled. Dubbed the ‘Gateway to the Reach’, it proves to be a perfect platform for further expansion, quickly growing into a prosperous trading hub and de facto capital of the Outer Reach. RenseCorp, now very wealthy, moves its primary base of operations to Dramos, and its family executives become politically active. 3164: Second Contact: Reacher explorers, guiding colonisation efforts in the Babbage Systems, encounter the Ryushi. At this time an advanced but settled, largely peaceable race of merchants and traders, they have recently developed their own FSD technology from the cannibalisation of an inactive and partially damaged Jump Gate in Babbage Prime. The Reachers and the Ryushi quickly strike up several trading agreements; the aliens eager to gain access to a vast new market for their products, especially foodstuffs, water and other comestibles, and robotics. 3167: Through their new Ryushi trading partners, Terran merchants and colonists make contact with the Kedorian Confederacy. The Kedorians, acquiring FSD from the Ryushi, control a small stellar dominion within the Devonian Systems. Like the Ryushi, they are eager to trade. Unlike the Ryushi, their apparent enthusiasm for the newcomers goes much further. They willingly offer berths for human vessels in their spaceports, and assistance in star-mapping the region around, though not within, their domains. 3168-73, The Thorsten Emergency: The first Terran colonies in the Thorsten Cluster come under sustained attack from the Illosians settled in the systems there. Fighting quickly spreads. The Illosians attack neighbouring colonies and even the Eathos System, from where the original settler fleets had begun their journey. The Eathosine colonists are forced to alter the coding of their beacons to prevent further Illosi raids en masse, but periodic attacks continue. The colonists appeal for aid, but assistance from the Satellite Charter is slow and fitful in coming – the explosion of colonisation efforts having outstripped the expansion of the NTSC. 3170: Works Raptor experiences a huge spike in demand for its products in response to the Thorsten Emergency. The corporation begins a rapid and sustained period of growth. 3171-73: In a surprising development, the Kedorian Confederacy offers military assistance to the embattled Reach colonists in Eathos and the Thorsten Systems. Though initially dubious, the Reachers accept, seeing little other prospect for immediate aid. The combined forces of the Reach defence fleets and the Kedorian flotillas defeat the Illosian raiders in several large skirmishes, forcing them back into their Thorsten territories, though sporadic raiding continues. The Thorsten Emergency marks the first hostile alien encounter since the Wars of First Contact. It does much to shape the attitude of future Reach inhabitants towards most aliens – an outlook not improved by the discovery, several decades later, that the Illosian race is the result of Aquan bio-experimention. Conversely, the event cements the reputation of the Kedorians as the Reachers’ most trusted alien associates, and one of the few species regarded with less suspicion by most Reachers. 3173 onwards: The Scutum-Centaurus Expansion is diverted around the entire Thorsten Cluster and new colonies expend considerable resources creating security cordons to defend themselves from periodic Illosi raids. 3174-81: Clayton Osrick, then-CEO of Hark-Williams initiates a plan he calls the Directorate Initiative. His eventual objective is establish an independent corporate state, free of any government interference. Overtures are made to Works Raptor, which eventually agrees to participate after some reservations. 3185: a Xelocian fleet is encountered by an NTSC patrol of the Fortress Fleet in the newly settled system of Cathera in the Haywain Cluster. The patrol is responding to reports of raids against system craft and waystations in the system, with much theft but minimal loss of life. A brief skirmish ensues, but the incorrigibly curious aliens are fascinated by the arriving naval patrol and agree to surrender their spoils in return for an information exchange. A Xelocian delegation accompanies the patrol back to Fortress, where the Terran authorities become aware of the starfaring Xelocian Imperium and its roving exploration fleets. In time, the Xelocians become another trading partner of the Satellite Charter, supplying a wealth of information about many regions of the galaxy in return for precious raw materials and comestible goods. 3198: Following information provided by the Aquan Sebrutan through their Terquai intermediaries, a Terran exploration fleet makes contact with the Tarakian Conclaves within the Harrison Belt. The ancient and inscrutable aliens seem largely uninterested in trade, except in imported water and ice, but consent to allow a formal diplomatic mission to be established. 3204, The Villa Incident: Villa, a small and remote Terran colony near the borders of the Aquan Sebrutan finds itself beset by pirates and raiders intent on looting its mineral wealth. The colonists call for aid, but before the NTSC can respond, a Tarakian flotilla appears in-system by a mysterious means of travel and comprehensively destroys the pirates’ main flotilla, before hunting down the fleeing remnants of the raiders. The aliens do not annihilate the pirates, but instead hand the remaining renegades over into the custody of the bemused colonial authorities for punishment. When queried about their actions, the Tarakian commanders answer cryptically about renegades being a source of disharmony requiring removal, before they take their leave. Such interventions occur with increasing frequency over the coming years across Terran and Aquan space. The Tarakians remain close-mouthed about their motivations, although they gain the nickname of ‘Watchmen of the Stars’ from numerous grateful colonists and spacefarers from both dominions. 3206-14: The corporations of the nascent Directorate pool their resources to create a massive well-equipped corporate colonisation fleet. With assistance from RenseCorp, the fleet sets out for the Wimms-Knizier Flow, heading for a region of space bounded by the Anderson, Hadley and Keller Systems; a dense cluster of solar systems later to be known as ‘The Triad’. 3245, The Calming of the Stormwrack: the last large-scale organised resistance of the Illosians within Sebrutan space is crushed with the Aquan reconquest of the Icthasyr System. The remaining Illosi are driven from known Aquan space. 3250: The Directorate fleet reaches the Anderson-Hadley-Keller cluster and encounters the Sabulon Dominion, a declining alien civilisation as yet un-contacted by human or other explorers. 3252, The Sabulon Xenocide: from 3252, the Directorate begins to systematically annex and colonise the worlds and systems of the Triad, ruthlessly destroying the Sabulon and their civilisation in the process. Due to the remoteness of the region, both Terra and the Outer Reach authorities remain wholly ignorant of the massacres. 3463-70: Outer Reach colonisation fleets are assembled in the Moore Systems and despatched for the Mordrin Zone, recognised as a potentially rich source of precious Cyrion crystals, recognised as a key fuel materal for the Reach Colonies. 3470: Mordrinite colonists in the Thessaly System encounter the Relthoza for the first time. The arachnoid aliens claim to have been observing human settlement efforts for some years and demand the colonists evacuate Thessaly and the surrounding systems. The Mordrinites refuse. 3471: Thessaly War breaks out with Relthoza attacks on Thessaly itself and several other systems. The colonists stand their ground despite fearful losses and appeal for aid from their fellows. The Mordrinites form a coalition to resist the invaders. 3472-3: Thessaly War escalates as both the Reachers and Relthoza pour more forces into the conflict. NTSC flotillas from the Storm Fleet and standing SCCDF Divisions arrive to shore up the defence and launch counterattacks against Relthozan staging areas. The war becomes a bloody stalemate. 3475-6: Following a lengthy scouting and espionage effort, the Reach colonists and NTSC discover the location of the outlying borders of the Relthoza Empire – in particular the Remica System. 3478: The last organised Sabulon resistance to the Directorate is crushed. The Sabulon Dominion effectively ceases to exist apart from a few scattered refugees. The Directorate powers take full possession of the Triad, along with the remaining wealth and technological secrets of the Sabulon. In an act of supreme cynicism, the Directorate advises the Satellite Charter that they have completed the settlement and development of a prosperous, and uninhabited, new region of the Reach, earning a commendation from the unsuspecting Terran Senate for their success. 3479: A Reacher naval task force, with Storm Fleet support, manages to infiltrate the Remica System and bombards the principle planet with a salvo of nuclear torpedoes. Although the damage is limited and the flotilla almost entirely wiped out – the mission being regarded as a suicide run – the shock value of the attack forces the Relthoza to consider a diplomatic solution to the conflict. 3479: Initial Relthoza diplomatic overtures are unsuccessful, due to several Reacher ambassadorial fatalities during ritualistic Ess’kassa honour combat. The war is prolonged as a result. 3480: A ceasefire is called in the Thessaly Way. Human and Relthoza representatives meet successfully after Ess’kassa is waived and negotiations are opened. 3481: Thessaly War ends with border agreements and territorial concessions between the Reachers and the Relthoza Empire. Tentative diplomatic negotiations are established, although it is some years before regular trading links are created. Relations between human and Relthoza remain somewhat pensive even today. 3485: The first Relthoza Empress, Iss’Karss, is proclaimed by the Twenty. Although the Relthoza have long considered their realm an Empire, the position of monarch is created to allow for a firmer hierarchical governance for the Relthoza dominion, with the aim of preventing repeats of regional debacles like the Thessaly War. 3500: The Satellite Charter government enacts a series of reforms in response to the pressures of accelerating colonisation and the need for increased military resources. The Outer Reach Colonies are reformed as the Terran Commonwealth and granted a greater degree of political autonomy within the Charter. A Commonwealth Legislature is established on Dramos, to provide a unified voice for the Reach Colonies, although it remains subordinate to the Satellite Charter Senate. However, in return, the subsidisation of colonial expansion by the Hub and Fortress Systems is scaled back, as more resources are funnelled into the development of colonies established within Fathoms Reach and the Storm Zone. Due to the potential wealth of the Outer Reach, the Senate judges colonies to possess enough potential to be self-funding. However, taxes and duties continue to be levied on Commonwealth exports to the Hub to keep the older colonies economically competitive; a bone of contention for the Commonwealth that will eventually have serious consequences. 3520: Ignatius Rense, Chairman of RenseCorp and head of the Rense family, is elected Governor of Dramos by the planetary legislature. 3520-3: Governor Rense builds a coalition of several key Commonwealth systems, notably Eathos, March, Piro and Knizier, against the Satellite Charter’s ‘exploitative’ policies. Relations between the Terran Senate and much of the Commonwealth Legislature become increasingly strained. 3524, The Tariff War: Ignatius Rense, supported by his coalition, imposes heavy licensing fees upon non-Commonwealth shipping and punitively high tariffs on Hub System trade goods passing through Dramos. The Terran government demands the repeal of these taxes and restoration of Satellite Charter regulations. Ignatius flatly refuses. 3524: Ervan Bas, Chairman of Hark-Williams, makes a secret overture to the Terran government: he promises the Directorate’s political and financial support for the Terran government in their quarrel with the Commonwealth dissenters. In return, he asks for the granting of independence to the Triad, albeit with a promise of continued support for the Terran Satellite Charter. Charter President Bersin responds favourably and agrees to advocate to the Senate to accept the proposition. Bas accepts Bersin’s offer of advocacy. 3524-6, First Secession War: following Ignatius’s continued intransigence and buoyed by the assurance of Directorate support, the government of Terra orders the NTSC Storm Zone divisions to mount an invasion of Dramos, Eathos and March. Fighting breaks out in all three systems, but resistance is quickly quashed in the latter two. Dramos holds out against an aggressive blockade for another full year, but a lack of wider support in the Commonwealth, coupled with the Directorate’s refusal to supply arms and logistical aid, forces its capitulation. With the Terran Senate unwilling to punish Ignatius too heavily and risk turning him into a martyr, the Rense clan and its company are banished to the system that bears their name, far into the Reach and away, it is supposed, from the strategic and political hub of Dramos. 3526: Following a historic Senate vote, the Directorate are granted independence from the Terran Satellite Charter, aided by President Bersin’s advocacy and, more significantly, a considerable amount of corporate financial lobbying to secure support. 3527 onwards: From their capital planet of Raven’s Citadel, the Rense Clan and their allies in the Commonwealth Legislature begin building a new base of support for secession. Over time, they gain the support of more and more systems across the Reach, and begin secret dealings with the Relthoza Empire. 3535 onwards: Following initial reticence, caused in no small part by their prior activities, the Rense Clan and the pro-secession Reach colonies open a secret dialogue with the Directorate, knowing that the support of the corporations would be invaluable for their plans for secession to work. The Directorate readily agrees to assist in arming and equipping the nascent Reach rebels. This also brings the Directorate into formal contact with the Relthoza. 3626: On the centenary of his family’s banishment from Dramos, Markus Rense, Ignatius’s grandson and Arch-Governor of the Rense System, wins a vote in the Legislature on declaring the Commonwealth’s independence from the Terran Satellite Charter. 3626-36, Second Secession War: The Terran government declares war on the Secessionists, and once again masses naval and ground forces to put down the revolt. This time, however, they are met with strong resistance from the colonists, armed and equipped after a century of preparation and further supported by the Directorate. The fighting rages for several years, threatening a bloody stalemate. 3636, The Burning of Dramos: in a desperate bid to end the war, Charter President Gravelines orders an all-out assault on the Dramos System, believing that by overcoming the core symbol of Reach resistance, he can break the will of the Secessionists. Faced with the absolute refusal of Dramos to surrender, Gravelines fatefully carries through his threat to destroy the world. Dramos is incinerated in a three-day nuclear bombardment by the NTSC. This proves to be a catastrophic error of judgement, all but confirming the Secessionists’ view of the Terrans as tyrants. Dozens more systems rise in revolt, including many that had remained ambivalent about the war. 3636-7, The Sundering of the Charter: President Gravelines is ousted from office. The Charter government, raging at their betrayal by the Directorate and now believing the continuing Second Secession War to be unwinnable, opens negotiations with Markus and the Secessionist Legislature. 3637-47: The Terran Satellite Charter is reformed as the Terran Alliance, and is immediately face with a crippling slump. Economic and technological development stagnates, and the Alliance turns to its alien allies with increasing frequency for assistance. 3637: Markus Rense, despite his misgivings, requests aid from the Directorate in reforming the economy of the Outer Reach colonies. The new Dindrenzi currency, the Federal or ‘Fed’ is initially pegged to the Directorate Mammon to guarantee its value. The services of the First Terran Stellar Bank are supplanted by Directorate financial institutions which also enable the newly autonomous Reach to continue to trade with its non-human neighbours – and also, via a series of third-party subsidiaries, with other powers as well. 3637: Proclamation of Ak’Vass as second Relthoza Empress, following the death of Iss’Karss. 3638: Establishment of the Church of the Dramos Angels, initially in the Eathos System. The Church begins organising ad hoc pilgrimages to Dramos itself and within two years breaks ground on what will become its first ecclesiastical site on the devastated planet. Much of the Church’s initial funding is provided covertly from confidential ‘slush funds’ channelled through the Directorate-administered banking system. 3638: The Rense System Navy is established by direct order of Chairman Markus. Initially a heavily armed flotilla dedicated to the defence of the Rense System, and Raven’s Citadel in particular, the RSN soon becomes the Chairman’s primary intelligence-gathering asset, operating throughout the Reach. 3638 onwards, The Legacy Colonies: the Terran Alliance begins to mount a concerted effort to recolonise systems in close proximity to the Terran Hub, which were earmarked for colonisation centuries before by sub-lightspeed fleets which never reported back. Several ‘Legacy Colonies’ are rediscovered, but not all welcome this development; some still regarding themselves as being abandoned by Terra. Nonetheless, the Legacy Colonies programme sees modest success and continues to the present day. 3639: The independence of the Terran Commonwealth is officially recognised. The new state takes the name of the Dindrenzi Federation, with Markus Rense as its first Chairman. 3639 onwards: Working to stabilise its economy, the Terran Alliance relaunches the Dresden Stream expansion, long held in abeyance. New colonisation efforts are initiated at the borders of Muishkin’s Rift. 3640: The Church of the Dramos Angels appeals to Chairman Markus Rense, now known as ‘The Liberator’ to be permitted to promulgate its doctrine throughout Dindrenzi space. Markus agrees but puts the matter to vote before the Legislature. After the resulting debate, the Church’s clergy are allowed to establish places of worship and preach their doctrine across the Federation, but the Legislature refuses to recognise Dramosine doctrine as the Federation’s state religion. 3640: The Rense System Navy establishes the ‘Long Watch’ over Dramos, ostensibly to protect the growing numbers of pilgrims travelling to the ‘Mourning-World’, but also to create a base to maintain surveillance of the Storm Zone frontiers. Over time, however, the RSN’s officer corps acquires a growing number of Dramosine converts, who spread their credo throughout the organisation as they are rotated to other postings. 3640 onwards: The Terran Alliance begins to strengthen the defences of the Storm Zone systems, now the dominion’s frontier with a potentially hostile power. The process is costly and, beset by many shortages and delays, proceeds in fits and starts despite the best efforts of the Alliance government. 3640-50, The Veydreth Wars: Further Terran colony fleets mapping and attempting to settle regions bordering Muishkin’s Rift are beset by attacks from these ferocious reptilian raiders. Like the Terrans, the Veydreth had succeeded in activating ancient Jump Gates to travel between a numbers of systems, several of which the Terrans unwittingly colonise, but never managed to replicate the installations. After numerous fierce clashes, NTSC flotillas as sent by Terra to protect the colonies and the situation stabilises. A ceasefire is eventually called, and the Satellite Charter strikes the Vanderghast Accord with the Veydreth Akrahnavaar, their ruling coalition of tribal chieftains. The Veydreth are inducted into the wider Terran trading network. The otherwise impoverished Veydreth pay for economic and technological boons by functioning as superlative mercenary cadres, notably alongside Terran and Sorylian forces. 3642-3, The Ambassadors’ Massacre: Empress Ak’Vass lifts the moratorium on the bloody Relthoza diplomatic ritual of Ess’Kassa. Half a dozen Dindrenzi diplomats are injured or killed in meetings over the course of a year, almost provoking a war with the new Dindrenzi Federation before the Twenty compel the new monarch to rescind her decree. To commemorate the occasion, the last Ess’Kassa combat to the death takes place in 3643 at the behest of the new Dindrenzi ambassador, Pioneer-Marshal Laertes McAlpine. McAlpine achieves considerable fame amongst both his own people and the Relthoza when he manages to slay Dros’Virssen, the Empress’s own judicial champion, through the inspired use of a rocket flight pack and a vibro-glaive. 3643-4,The Thorsten Settlement: a joint Dindrenzi-Directorate-Kedorian mission makes contact with the Illosians, with offers of an alliance against the hated Aquans. The Illosi remain largely distrustful of their neighbours, but respect their military prowess enough to agree to an accord, which further guarantees their undisputed dominion of the Thorsten Cluster Systems. 3647 onwards: The Directorate, concerned that a return to peace and stability in the galaxy will adversely affect corporate growth forecasts, begins a multi-pronged campaign of activities designed to provoke instability and war fever on all sides. 3650-55, The Devonian Tumult: The Dindrenzi Federation assists the Kedorian Dominions in expelling the Ryushi from the Devonian Systems. The Ryushi have consistently resisting incorporating their trading network into the new Outer Reach trading system, continuing to trade with the Terran Alliance as they had done before the Secession Wars. The Legislature approves the action, fearing the recalcitrant aliens might otherwise provide an intelligence conduit for Terran spies. The bulk of the war is undertaken by the Kedorians, assisted by Illosian flotillas escorted into the systems by RSN sentinels. The Ryushi, faced with overwhelming odds, are forced to flee, eventually seeking refuge in the Storm Zone and Fathoms Reach. 3650: the Church of the Dramos Angels begins advocating for a crusade against the Terran Alliance, whose continued association with ‘corrupting’ alien influences they regard as a threat to the future of the human race. They garner much support from systems close to the Terran, Aquan and Sorylian borders. 3652 onwards: through multiple points of pressure, the Dindrenzi Legislature, and even some of the Rense Clan, begin to look favourably on the idea of an offensive war against the Terran Alliance and its supporters, thus establishing Dindrenzi supremacy once and for all. 3656: The Terran Senate approves the creation of TerIntel, a newly reformed intelligence service covering the entire Terran Alliance and with direct liaisons within the Aquan Sebrutan and Sorylian Collective. TerIntel replaces a number of older agencies covering individual sectors of Alliance space. The agency’s first mission is to collate all intelligence concerning military activity within the Dindrenzi state. 3710: The Alliance of Kurak is formalised, as one of the last policy decisions of outgoing Terran Charter President Anton Kurak. The Terran, Aquan and Sorylian dominions reaffirm their commitment to each other’s defence. Other signatories are brought into the alliance over the coming years. 3713: With the assistance of the Directorate, Federation Chairman Rufus Rense, the lauded grandson of Markus ‘The Liberator’, welds together the Zenian League. The triumvirate of the Dindrenzi Federation, the Directorate and the Relthoza Empire are joined by several other alien dominions in a treaty referred to by the more cynical as a veritable ‘pirates’ charter’. 3721: Terran-Dindrenzi War breaks out: massive combined offensives by Zenian League forces drive deeply into the Storm Zone and the outlying border regions of the Aquan and Sorylian Dominions. 3723: a ‘grey war’ between various minor factions breaks out in the Rift – also called the Eastern Rift – between the Sorylian Collective and the Dindrenzi Federation. After a year of sporadic conflict, almost all contact with the region is abruptly lost. 3725, The Proteus Campaign: a Terquai research expedition, exploring and documenting a mysterious ‘sunless’ world, dubbed Proteus, inadvertently trigger a cataclysmic event involving technologies seemingly harboured by an ancient, all but unknown civilisation. The expedition is interdicted by a Directorate invasion flotilla, leading to heavy fighting in space and planetside. Amid the climactic orbital battles, a vast, portal-like structure is seen to ‘coalesce’ above the world. It is later destroyed following a deliberate FSD overload initiated by the crippled super-carrier acting as the Aquan fleet flagship. 3726, The Amber Campaign: The Kurak Alliance musters forces to mount a powerful counteroffensive centred on the Amber System to drive into the flanks of the Zenian League invasion forces. Anticipating the move, the Zenians position considerable forces in and around Amber and a ferocious struggle for supremacy in the region begins. 3726: The present day - time for our Fleet Commanders to help us shape the future! Category:Lore